China's New Video Rule Hits 12 Tech Giants Like Tencent

(P1) China’s top internet regulator has fully deployed new rules to standardize short video content labeling, a move that directly impacts 12 major technology platforms including divisions of Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) and Kuaishou Technology (01024.HK). The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) is making the labels a compulsory step in the publishing process to combat misinformation, according to a statement released by the agency.

(P2) "In response to prominent issues in certain short video content, such as unclear sources, difficulty in distinguishing authenticity, and misleading information, the CAC has...comprehensively deployed efforts to standardize short video content labeling," the agency's notice said. The rules require publishers to choose from six categories of "mandatory labels" before a video can be released.

(P3) The policy was piloted in March with a dozen of China’s most influential internet platforms. Besides Tencent and Kuaishou, the list includes social commerce app Xiaohongshu, video site Bilibili Inc. (9626.HK), and platforms operated by Weibo (9898.HK), Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK, via Taobao), JD.com (9618.HK), and Baidu Inc. (9888.HK), signaling broad enforcement across the sector.

(P4) The move tightens Beijing's control over the country's massive online content ecosystem and introduces fresh operational and compliance costs for the affected companies. For investors, the regulation represents another layer of legal and financial risk for China's tech giants, which have faced a multi-year regulatory crackdown. The CAC has stated it will step up supervision and impose strict penalties for non-compliance.

New Rules Add Operational Friction

The new framework makes content labeling an unavoidable part of the video publishing workflow. Platforms are now responsible for not only providing the labeling function but also for reviewing newly created labels and retrospectively checking their existing libraries of video content.

This requires significant investment in content moderation systems and personnel. The CAC's statement noted that platforms must issue educational warnings to users who fail to label correctly, adding another layer to platform responsibility. The rules are designed to increase transparency and help users distinguish between different types of content, but they will likely increase the time and cost associated with publishing on these platforms.

Sector-Wide Impact

The breadth of companies included in the initial pilot program underscores the regulator's intention for the rules to become a new industry standard. The list spans the most popular short video, e-commerce, and social media applications in China, affecting a daily user base in the hundreds of millions.

While the long-term market impact is not yet clear, the increased compliance burden could weigh on the profitability of companies that rely heavily on user-generated content. The threat of public exposure and "strict penalties" for platforms that fail to enforce the rules creates a powerful incentive for them to adopt a conservative and thorough approach to moderation, which could, in turn, affect user engagement if the publishing process becomes too cumbersome. The new policy is a clear signal that the era of light-touch regulation for China's internet platforms is definitively over.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.